1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to tone material editing apparatus and program that enable candidate tone material data, which would be added to video data, to be audited while reproducing the video data, performs real-time processing on the tone material data to be added to the video data so that the tone material data can be audited, processes the tone material data in the MIDI file format and converts the processed tone material data into data in a predetermined audio format, and acquires tone material data to be added to video data from a tone material providing site that provides tone material data.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, there is known a service that provides tone material data (e.g. musical composition data in the MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) format) via a server computer functioning as a web site so that the user can download the tone material data by accessing the web site via a personal computer or the like.
There is also conventionally known a video editing apparatus that is capable of adding tone material data as background music (hereinafter referred to as “BGM”) to video data.
This conventional video editing apparatus, however, has the problem that, when tone material data is added as BGM to video data, the tone material data and the video data cannot be reproduced at the same time unless an editing operation is completed in which tone material data downloaded in advance is added to video data. Therefore, the user cannot ascertain how tone material data (e.g. BGM) has been added to video data until after the editing operation is completed.
Further, the conventional video editing apparatus has the problem of editing video data with a low working efficiency and lacking the usability because, in order to acquire desired BGM, there is the necessity of downloading a large number of tone material data in advance or accessing a web site many times and downloading tone material data in each access for the reason that tone color data must be downloaded in advance before the editing operation is carried out.
There is also conventionally known a tone material processing apparatus that is capable of processing tone material data, such as a MIDI sequencer that is capable of processing MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) data.
If the user desires to add tone material data as BGM to video data, he or she cannot ascertain the video data with the tone material data (BGM) added thereto until after an editing operation is completed by a video editing apparatus after the tone material data is processed and stored in a file by the tone material processing apparatus. Therefore, the working efficiency is very low in the case where tone material data is repeatedly processed many times.
Further, a data converting apparatus that converts tone material data downloaded from a web site into data in a predetermined audio format, and a video editing apparatus that is capable of adding tone material data in an audio format as BGM to video data are conventionally known.
If the user adds tone material data in the MIDI file format as BGM to video data, and in particular, if the user does not like the tone color data as it is, he or she has to use the MIDI sequencer or the like so as to process the tone material data as desired (for example, change the part structure, tone color, volume, effect, tempo, or pitch), store the processed tone material data once in an arbitrary file, convert the tone material data stored in the arbitrary file into data in a predetermined audio format by the data converting apparatus, and add the converted data in the audio format to the video data by the video editing apparatus. This is very troublesome because the user has to perform processing using many apparatuses. Further, although the MIDI sequencer has an advantage of generally having many functions and being capable of freely performing various processing on tone material data in the MIDI file format, it has a disadvantage of it being difficult for beginners to fully utilize.
Further, when the user accesses a web site via a personal computer or the like in order to download tone material data, he or she designates a reproduction time in which tone material data is reproduced, and the like on the web site, and a server computer functioning as the web site retrieves tone material data conforming to information on the designated reproduction time and transmits the retrieved tone material data to the user's personal computer or the like.
Therefore, to make the reproduction time of video data and the reproduction time of tone material data correspond to each other, the user has to recognize the reproduction time of the video data in advance. For this reason as well, video data is edited with a low working efficiency.